History of Fillmore County, Including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota, Part 42

Author: Edward D. Neill
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages:

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The interpreter at the post, who had gone to Yellow Medicine for the purpose of attending the Indian payment, returned about the 20th of Au- gust, and reported that the Indians were becoming exasperated and that he expected hostilities to be

immediately commenced. Upon the receipt of this intelligence the guards were doubled, and every method adopted that was likely to insure protec- tion against surprises.

The Congress of the United States had author- ized a treaty to be made with the Red Lake In- dians, (Chippewas,) and the officers were already on their way for the purpose of consummating such treaty. A train of some thirty wagons, loaded with goods, and a herd of some two hundred head of cattle, to be used at the treaty by the United States Agent, was likewise on the way, and was then at no great distance from the fort.

Early in the morning of the 23d a messenger arrived, and informed the commandant that a band of nearly five hundred Indians had already crossed the Otter Tail river, with the intention of cutting off and capturing the train of goods and cattle in- tended for the treaty. Word was immediately sent to those having the goods in charge, and request- ing them to take refuge in the fort, which was speedily complied with. Messengers were like- wise sent to Breckenridge, Old Crossing, Graham's Point, and all the principal settlements, urging the inhabitants to flee to the fort for safety, as from the weakness of the garrison, it was not pos- sible that protection could be afforded them else- where.

The great majority of the people from the set- tlements arrived in safety on the same day, and were assigned to quarters within the fortification. Three men, however, upon arriving at Brecken- ridge, refused to go any further, and took posses- sion of the hotel of the place, where they declared they would defend themselves and their property without aid from any source. On the evening of the same day a detachment of six men was sent out in that direction, in order to learn, if possible, the movements of the Indians. Upon their arriv- ing in sight of Breckenridge they discovered the place to be occupied by a large force of the sav- ages. They were likewise seen by the latter, who attempted to surround them, but being mounted, and the Indians on foot, they were enabled to make their escape, and returned to the fort.

The division of the company at Georgetown was immediately ordered in; and, on the morning of the 24th, a detachment was sent to Brecken- ridge, when they found the place deserted by the Indians, but discovered the bodies of the three men who had there determined to brave the vio- lence of the war party by themselves. They had

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FORT ABERCROMBIE.

been brutally murdered, and, when found, had chains bound around their ankles, by which it ap- peared, from signs upon the floor of the hotel, their bodies at least had been dragged around in the savage war-dance of their murderers, and, per- haps, in that very mode of torture they had suf- fered a lingering death. The mail-coach for St. Paul, which left the fort on the evening of the '22d, had fallen into the hands of the Indians, the driver killed, and the contents of the mail scat- tered over the prairie, as was discovered by the detachment on the 24th.

Over fifty citizens capable of bearing arms had taken refuge with the garrison, and willingly be- came soldiers for the time being; but many of them were destitute of arms, and none could be furnished them from the number in the possession of the commandant. There was need, however, to strengthen the position with outside intrench- ments, and all that could be spared from other duties were employed in labor of that character.

On the morning of the 25th of August, messen- gers were dispatched from the post to head-quar- ters, stating the circumstances under which the garrison was placed, and the danger of a severe attack; but, as all troops that could be raised, and were not indispensable at other points, had been sent to Colonel Sibley, then on the march for the relief of Fort Ridgely, it was impossible at once to reinforce Fort Abercrombie with any troops al- ready reported ready for the field. Authority had been given, and it was expected that a considera- ble force of mounted infantry for the State ser- vice had been raised, or soon would be, at St. Cloud.

As the place was directly upon the route to Ab- ercrombie, it was deemed advisable to send any troops that could be raised there to the assistance of Captain Van der Horck, relying upon our abil- ity to have their places shortly filled with troops, then being raised in other parts of the State. Ac- cordingly, Captain Freeman, with his company, of about sixty in number, started upon the march; but upon arriving at Sauk Center, he became con- vinced, from information there received, that it would be extremely dangerous, if not utterly im- possible, to make the march to the fort with so small a number of men. He then requested Cap- tain Ramsdell, in command of the troops at Sauk Center, to detail thirty men from his command, to be united with his own company, and, with his force so strengthened, he proposed to make the

attempt to reach the fort. Captain Ramsdell thought that, by complying with this request, he would so weaken his own force that he would be unable to hold position at Sauk Center, and that the region of country around would become over- run by the enemy, and he refused his consent. Captain Freeman then deemed it necessary to await reinforcements before proceeding any further on his perilous journey.

On the same day that orders were issued to the mounted men then assembling at St. Cloud, simi- lar orders were issued to those likewise assembling in Goodhue county, under the command of Cap- tain David L. Davis, directing them to complete their organization with all speed, and then to pro- ceed forthwith to the town of Carver, on the Min- nesota river, and thence through the counties of McLeod, Meeker, and Stearns, until an intersec- tion was made with the stage-route from St. Cloud to Fort Abercrombie, and thence along such stage- route to the fort, unless the officers in command became convinced that their services were more greatly needed in some other quarter, in which case they had authority to use discretionary pow- ers. This company, likewise, marched pursuant to orders; but, in consequence of the attacks then being made upon Forest City, Acton, and Hutch- inson, they deemed it their duty to render as- sistance to the forces then acting in that part of the country.

The first efforts to reinforce the garrison on the Red River had failed. Upon the fact becoming known at this office, there were strong hopes that two more companies of infantry could be put into the field in a very short time, and, therefore, on the 30th day of August, orders were issued to the commandant of Fort Snelling, directing him to detail two companies, as soon as they could be had, to proceed to Sauk Center, and thence to proceed to Fort Abercrombie, in case their ser- vices were not urgently demanded in the Sauk Valley. These companies were, soon after, dis- patched accordingly, and it was hoped that, by means of this increased force on the north-western frontier, a sufficiently strong expedition might be formed to effect the reinforcement of Abercrombie.

Upon the arrival of these troops at the rendez- vous, however, they still considered the forces in that vicinity inadequate to the execution of the task proposed. Of this fact we first had notice on the 6th day of September. Two days previously, the effective forces of the state, had been strength-

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HISTORY OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE.

ened by the arrival of the Third Regiment Minne- sota Volunteers, without any commissioned officers and being but a wreck of that once noble regi- ment. Three hundred of the men had already been ordered to the field, under the command of Major Welch. It was now determined to send forward the remaining available force of the regi- ment, to endeavor to effect the project so long delayed, of reinforcing the command of Captain Van der Horck, on the Red River of the North. Orders were accordingly issued to the commandant at Fort Snelling, on the 6th day of September, directing him to fit out an expedition for that pur- pose, to be composed, as far as possible, of the troops belonging to the Third Regiment; and Colonel S.nith, the commandant at the post, im- mediately entered upon the discharge of the duties assigned him in the order.

During the time that these efforts had been making for their relief, the garrison at Fort Aber- crombie was kept in a state of siege by the sav- ages, who had taken possession of the surrounding country in large numbers. On the 25th of August, the same day that the first messengers were sent from that post, Captain Van der Horck detailed a squad, composed of six men from his company and six of the citizens then in the fort, to proceed to Breckenridge and recover the bodies of the men who had there been murdered. They proceeded, without meeting with any opposition, to the point designated, where they found the bodies, and con- signed them to boxes or rough coffins, prepared for the purpose, and were about starting on the return, when they observed what they supposed to be an Indian in the saw-mill, at that place. A further examination revealed the fact that the object mistaken for an Indian was an old lady by the name of Scott, from Old Crossing, on the Otter Tail, a point distant fifteen miles from Breckenridge.

When discovered, she had three wounds on the breast, which she had received from the Indians, at her residence, on the morning of the previous day. Notwithstanding the severity of her wounds, and the fact that she was sixty-five years of age, she made her way on foot and alone, by walking or crawling along the banks of the river, until she arrived, in a worn-out, exhausted, and almost dy- ing condition, at the place where she was found. She stated that, on the 24th of August, a party of Indians came to her residence, where they were met by her son, a young man, whom they instantly

shot dead, and immediately fired upon her, inflict- ing the wounds upon her person which she still bore. That then a teamster in the employment of Burbank & Co. appeared in sight, driving a wagon loaded with oats, and they went to attack him, taking with them her grandchild, a boy about eight years of age. That they fired upon the teamster, wounding him in the arm, after which he succeeded in making his escape for that time, and they left her, no doubt believing her to be dead, or, at least, in a dying condition. She was con- veyed to the fort, where her wounds were dressed, after which she gradually recovered. A party was sent out, on the 27th of August, to the Old Cross- ing, for the purpose of burying the body of her son, which was accomplished, and on their way to that point they discovered the body of another man who had been murdered, as was supposed, on the 24th.

On Saturday, the 30th of August, another small party were sent out, with the intention of going to the Old Crossing for reconnoitering pur- poses, and to collect and drive to the fort such cattle and other live stock as could there be found. They had proceeded ten miles on their way, when they came upon a party, of Indians, in ambush, by whom they were fired upon, and one of their party killed. The remainder of the squad made their escape unhurt, but with the loss of their baggage wagon, five mules, and their camp equipage.

At about two o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, the Indians appeared in large numbers in sight of the fort. At this time nearly all the live stock belonging to the post, as well as that belonging to the citizens then quartered within the work, together with the cattle that had been intended for the treaty in contemplation with the Red Lake Indians, were all grazing upon the prairie in rear of the fort, over a range extending from about one-half mile to three miles from it. The Indians approached boldly within this dis- tance, and drove off the entire herd, about fifty head of which afterward escaped. They succeeded, however, in taking between one hundred and sev- enty and two hundred head of cattle, and about one hundred horses and mules. They made no demonstration against the fort, except their appa- rently bold acts of defiance; but, from the weak- ness of the garrison in men and arms, no force was sent out to dispute with them the possession of the property. It was mortifying in the ex- treme, especially to the citizens, to be compelled

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UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK.

to look thus quietly on, while they were being robbed of their property, and dare not attempt its rescue, lest the fort should be filled with their ene- mies in their absence.

On the 2d day of September, another reconnoi- tering party of eight were sent out in the direction of Breckenridge, who returned, at four o'clock P. M. without having encountered any opposition from the Indians, or without having even seen any; but brought with them the cattle above spoken of as having escaped from their captors, which were found running at large during their march.

At daybreak on the following morning, the 3d of September, the garrison was suddenly called to arms by the report of alarm-shots fired by the sen- tinels in the vicinity of the stock-yard belonging to the post. The firing soon became sharp and rapid in that direction, showing that the enemy were advancing upon that point with considerable force. The command was shortly after given for all those stationed outside to fall back within the fortification. About the same time, two of the haystacks were discovered to be on fire, which greatly emboldened and inflamed the spirits of the citizens, whose remaining stock they considered to be in extreme jeopardy. They rushed with great eagerness and hardihood to the stables, and as the first two of them entered on one side, two of the savages had just entered from the other. The fore- most of these men killed one of the Indians and captured his gun. The other Indian fired upon the second man, wounding him severely in the shoulder, notwithstanding which, he afterward shot the Indian and finished him with the bayonet. By this time two of the horses had been taken away and two killed.

The fight was kept up for about two hours and a half, during which time three of the inmates of the fort were seriously wounded (one of whom af- terward died from the wound) by shots from the enemy; and the commandant received a severe wound in the right arm from an accidental shot, fired by one of his own men. The Indians then retired without having been able to effect an en- trance into the fort, and without having been able to succeed in capturing the stock of horses and cattle, which, most probably, had been the princi- pal object of their attack.

Active measures were taken to strengthen the outworks of the fort. The principal materials at hand were cord-wood and hewn timber, but of this there was a considerable abundance. By

means of these the barracks were surrounded with a breastwork of cord-wood, well filled in with earth to the height of eight feet, and this capped with hewn oak timbers, eight inches square, and having port-holes between them, from which a fire could be opened on the advancing foe. This was designed both as a means of protection, in case of attack, and a place of final retreat in case the main fort should by any means be burned or de- stroyed, or the garrison should in any manner be driven from it.

On Saturday, the 6th day of September, the same day that an expedition to that point was or- dered from the Third Regiment, the fort was a se- cond time attacked. Immediately after daybreak on that morning, the Indians, to the number of about fifty, mounted on horseback, made their ap- pearance on the open prairie in the rear of the fort. Their intention evidently was, by this bold and defiant challenge, with so small a force, to in- duce the garrison to leave their fortifications and advance against them, to punish their audacity.

In becoming satisfied that our troops could not be seduced from their intrenchments, the Indians soon displayed themselves in different directions, and in large numbers. Their principal object of attack in this instance, as on the former occasion, seemed to be the Government stables, seeming de- termined to get possession of the remaining horses and cattle at almost any sacrifice, even if they should make no other acquisition.

The stables were upon the edge of the prairie, with a grove of heavy timber lying between them and the river. The savages were not slow in per- ceiving the advantage of making their approach upon that point from this latter direction. The shores of the river, on both sides, were lined with Indians for a considerable distance, as their war- whoops, when they concluded to commence the onset, soon gave evidence. They seemed determ- ined to frighten the garrison into a cowardly sub- mission, or, at least, to drive them from the ont- posts, by the amount and unearthliness of their whoops and yells .. They, in turn, however, were saluted and partially quieted by the opening upon them of a six-pounder, and the explosion of a shell in the midst of their ranks.

A large force was led by one of their chiefs from the river through the timber until they had gained a close proximity to the stables, still under cover of large trees in the grove. When no nearer position could be gained without presenting them-

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selves in the open ground, they were urged by their leader to make a charge upon the point thus sought to be gained, and take the place by storm. They appeared slow in rendering obedience to his command, whereby they were to expose themselves in an open space intervening between them and the stables. When at length he succeeded in cro- ating a stir among them (for it assuredly did not approach the grandeur of a charge), they were met by such a volley from the direction in which they were desired to march that they suddenly re- versed their advance, and each sought the body of a tree, behind which to screen himself from the threatened storm of flying bullets.

As an instance of the manner in which the fight was now conducted, we would mention a part of the personal adventures of Mr. Walter P. Hills, a citizen, who three times came as a messenger from the fort during the time it was in a state of siege. He had just returned to the post with dis- patches the evening before the attack was made. He took part in the engagement, and killed his Indian in the early portion of the fight before the enemy was driven across the river.

He afterward took position at one of the port- holes, where he paired off with a particular Sioux warrior, posted behind a tree of his own selection. Ha, being acquainted with the language to a con- siderable extent, saluted and conversed with his antagonist, and as the opportunity was presented, each would fire at the other. This was kept up for about an hour without damage to either party, when the Indian attempted to change his position, so as to open fire from the opposite side of his tree from that which he had been using hitherto. In this maneuver he made an unfortunate exposure of his person in the direction of the upper bastion of the fort. The report of a rifle from that point was heard; and the Indian was seen to make a sudden start backward, when a second and third shot fol- lowed in rapid succession, and Mr. Hills beheld his polite opponent stretched a corpse upon the ground. He expressed himself as experiencing a feeling of dissatisfaction at beholding the death of his enemy thus inflicted by other hands than his own, after he had endeavored so long to accom- plish the same object.

Several of the enemy at this point were killed while in the act of skulking from one tree to an- other. The artillery of the post was used with considerable effect during the engagement. At one time a number of the enemy's horsemen were

observed collecting upon a knoll on the prairie, at the distance of about half a mile from the fort, with the apparent intention of making a charge. A howitzer was brought to bear upon them, and a shell was planted in their midst, which immediately afterward exploded, filling the air with dust, sand, and other fragments. When this had sufficiently cleared away to permit the knoll to be again seen, the whole troop, horses and riders, had vanished, and could nowhere be discovered. .

The fight lasted until near noon, when the enemy withdrew, taking with him nearly all his dead. The loss which he sustained could not be fully as- certained, but from the number killed in plain view of the works, and the marks of blood, broken guns, old rags, and other signs discovered where the men had fallen or been dragged away by their companions, it must have been very severe. Our loss was one man killed and two wounded, one of them mortally.

Mr. Hills left the fort the same evening as bearer of dispatches to headquarters at St. Paul, where he arrived in safety on the evening of the 8th of September.

Captain Emil A. Buerger was appointed, by special order from headquarters, to take command of the expedition for the relief of Fort Abercrom- bie. He had served with some distinction in the Prussian army for a period of ten years. He after- ward emigrated to the United States, and be- came a resident of the state of Minnesota, taking the oath of allegiance to the Gov- ernment of the United States, and making a declaration of his intention to become a citizen. He enlisted in the second company of Minnesota Sharp-Shooters, and was with the company in the battle of Fair Oaks, in Virginia, where he was severely wounded and left upon the field. He was there found by the enemy, and carried to Rich- mond as a prisoner of war. After having in a great measure recovered from his wounds, he was paroled and sent to Benton Barracks, in the state of Missouri, where he was sojourning at the time the 3d Regiment was ordered to this state. As the regiment at that time was utterly destitute of com- missioned officers, Captain Buerger was designated to take charge and command during the passage from St. Louis, and to report the command at head- quarters in this state.

From his known experience and bravery, he was selected to lead the expedition to the Red River of the North, for the relief of the garrison at

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REINFORCEMENTS.

Fort Abercrombie. On the 9th of September he was informed, by the commandant at Fort Snell- ing, that the companies commanded respectively by Captains George Atkinson and Rolla Banks, together with about sixty men of the Third Regi- ment, under command of Sergeant Dearborne, had been assigned to his command, constituting an aggregate force of about 250 men.

The next day (September 10) arms and accou- trements were issued to the men, and, before noon of the 11th of September, Captain Atkinson's company and the company formed from the mem- bers of the Third Regiment were ready for the march. With these Captain Buerger at once set out, leaving Captain Bank's company to receive their clothing, but with orders to follow after and overtake the others as soon as possible, which they did, arriving at camp and reporting about 3 o'clock the next morning.

It was also deemed expedient to send the only remaining field-piece belonging to the state along with the expedition, and Lieutenant Robert J. McHenry was, accordingly, appointed to take command of the piece, and was sent after the expedition, which he succeeded in overtaking, near Clear Water, on the 13th of September, and imme- diately reported for further orders to the captain commanding the expedition.

Being detained by heavy rains and muddy roads, the expedition was considerably delayed upon its march, but arrived at Richmond, in Stearns county, on the 16th of September, and encamped in a fortification erected at that point by the citizens of the place. Upon his arrival, Cap- tain Buerger was informed that the night previous an attack had been made upon the neighboring village of Paynesville, and a church and school- house had been burned, and that, on the day of his arrival, a party of thirty Sioux warriors, well mounted, had been seen by some of the Richmond home-guards, about three miles beyond the Sauk river at that point.

Captain Buerger thereupon detailed a party of twenty men to proceed to Richmond, to patrol up and down the bank of the river as far as the town site extended, and, in case of an attack being made, to render all possible or necessary assistance and aid to the home militia; at the same time he held the remainder of his command in readiness to meet any emergency that might arise. No In- dians appeared during the night, and, on the morning following, the march was resumed.

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History of Fillmore County, Including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota, Part 42

Author: Edward D. Neill Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: Edward D. Neill
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: